Yearly Archives: 2007

For many, the term African art conjures up images of deftly carved wooden sculptures and masks with intricate patterns, heavily beaded royal attire or elegant, brightly colored textiles. At Minneapolis Gallery 13, through John Olympio's canvass paintings, we are introduced to a different side of African art.

The City of Minneapolis and the African Development Center (ADC) have partnered to offer a new alternative financing program targeted at small businesses in the city. The program  addresses  Islam's prohibition on paying interest on loans.

Nimco Ahmed was recently appointed as the policy aide for Robert Lillgren, the city councilor of the 6th Ward in Minneapolis. 

“Today is the beginning of the rest of your life.” These are Pastor Randy Morrison’s opening words during a Sunday morning service at Speak the Word Church International in Golden Valley, MN.

It was a night to remember. Saturday the 10th of March 2007 Bayelsa State (also known as the Glory of Lands), Nigeria hosted the main players in the film industry from the continent.

Thousands of Ghanaians and well-wishers stood in silence at the capital of Accra on that faithful hot day of March 6th, 1957, as the thunderous speakers of the independence square blurted out the famous words of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, “Ghana, your beloved country is free forever,” he shouted. The jubilant crowd roared in response. Nkrumah, the founding president of what is now the republic of Ghana, was the hero of the day. Many listened and hung on to his words as if their lives depended on it, as though they had been waiting for that moment all their lives, and in so many ways they had.

There is a popular belief that when non-citizens and undocumented workers are detained for violating immigration laws, they remain in jail until an immigration judge allows them to stay or orders their removal from the U.S. But there are alternatives to detention, which can make life better – or worse – for individuals whom the U.S. government seeks to remove from the country. 

In the horizon among the shrubs of the Savannah, in Northern Tanzania, live the Barabaig. Demarcation of land, both by the colonial government and different Tanzanian administrations has pushed the Barabaig to extreme poverty. From what seems despair, Mary Gitagno has risen, not just uplifting herself, but her whole community.

The Department of African American and African Studies in collaboration with the Institute of Global Studies at the University of Minnesota will sponsor a one day Swahili Open Day on April 21 to herald the return of Swahili instruction at the University of Minnesota beginning this fall.

Minister Tickles Funny Bones in Atlanta, Booed in Minneapolis

ATLANTA – In an apparent attempt by the government to woo the Diaspora to invest in Kenya, Finance Minister Amos Kimunya told his fellow citizens abroad to put their money to work in their motherland, which he said had undergone tremendous economic growth.

Diaspora’s Financial Power Key

ATLANTA - African immigrants around the world should not expect foreigners to tackle the problems of their continent, a Malawi-born distinguished historian and advocate of African-centered solutions to the continent’s challenges said here today.